Martin Scorsese Hints at Retirement at Marrakech Film Festival

The days of Martin Scorsese as an active moviemaker may be numbered. Speaking over the weekend at the Marrakech Film Festival, where he is presiding as jury president, the Oscar-winning filmmaker said that he expects to retire after making a “couple more” films, according to a story in The Guardian.

“I have the desire to make many films, but as of now, I'm 71 and there's only a couple more left if I get to make them,” said Scorsese as quoted in the British paper. “I miss the time when I had the desire to experiment and try different kinds of films, I miss that time, but that's done, it's over. There is obligation as you get older, you have family. I've been very lucky in the last 10 years or so to have found projects that combine the desire [and fulfill] the obligation to my family and the financiers.”

Scorsese is also known for his work at The Film Foundation, which he started in 1990 dedicated to film preservation. The organization recently announced a 21-film retrospective spotlighting some of Poland's most celebrated filmmakers, which will launch at the Film Society of Lincoln Center February 5, Martin Scorsese Presents: Masterpieces of Polish Cinema, a program that will tour throughout North America.

Scorsese's latest is black comedy The Wolf of Wall Street starring Leonard DiCaprio opens Christmas Day about a stockbroker (DiCaprio) who refuses to cooperate in a large securities fraud case involving corruption on Wall Street, corporate banking and the mob. AFI named it one of the year's Top 10 films yesterday.

In Marrakech, Scorsese heaped praise on DiCaprio who he said gave him new vigor as a filmmaker. “He regenerated my enthusiasm for making films. Mainly because, as you get older, it gets physically difficult and also the business especially – the financial issues. You're responsible for a lot of money, if you get it. It's all pressure, but can you do it? His enthusiasm and excitement really kept me going, for another five pictures now.”

Possibly one of Scorsese's final upcoming projects include The Irishman with longtime collaborator Robert DeNiro as well as Al Pacino and Joe Pesci based on the 2004 Charles Brandt book, I Heard You Paint Houses. The story follows the life of Frank Sheeran and his involvement with the Teamsters Union and his alleged links to the Bufalino crime family and the disappearance of Jimmy Hoffa.

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